The acting is amazing, the direction superb, and the cinematography (courtesy of Christopher Doyle) is beautiful. Hell, this is the best film in any country I have ever seen! There is not one bad thing I can say about this film. This is the best Hong Kong film I have ever seen. To date, Wong Kar-Wai’s best - and certainly most fun - film. Sure, it meanders off-course a couple times (expired pineapples?!), but that’s part of the appeal. Not everyone will revere this film like I do, but most will agree it’s a wonderfully simple, quirky film with outstanding, energetic performances by Takeshi Kaneshiro and a beautiful Faye Wong. Wong Kar Wai’s “Chungking Express” also stirs feelings of nostalgia for another summer not too long ago. For example, “Reservoir Dogs” and Woo’s “The Killer” will forever remind me of one memorable summer seven years ago when I caught both on video, back-to-back, for the first time. And anyway, with themes of imperfect and unrequited love (and mouldy tins of pineapple) surely a little imperfection is a good thing?Ĭertain films offer the same nostalgic feelings that often envelope us when listening to a favorite song or catching a familiar scent. But in a way, those kind of moments are all the more reason to like this movie, where imperfections seem more like cinematic explorations and experiments. Also, there are times when some of the ‘symbolic moments’ meander a bit down paths not so easy to follow – tinned pineapple, anyone? I confess I found that a little tortuous. I think a much more powerful film could’ve been made if just one of the stories was taken and concentrated on. On the downside, the fact that there are essentially two different stories going on at the same time, with equal time given to each, can mean that some of the simplicity Wong Kar-Wai seemed to try so hard to evoke becomes lost. Favourite hobby – leaning against the wall and smoking cigarettes. His character is the archetypal Wong Kar-Wai male: aloof, mysterious, untouchable, and very alone.
CHUNGKING EXPRESS BLU RAY MOVIE
Tony Leung Chiu-Wai is brilliant, as ever he just has so much charisma, and in this movie there are several shots of him doing nothing much at all – but he fills that screen, nonetheless.
Takeshi Kaneshiro is kind of cool, and there’s an almost exuberant feeling about him. Brigitte Lin reminds us why she was famous in the first place and fills the screen with a wonderful presence – and the blonde Marilyn wig is a scream! Much was made of Faye Wong…I’m going to be radical and say, yes, she’s OK but after a while it seems like she only has the one expression: a sort of “I’m-yearning-and-poetic-but-also-kookie” thing, but she does bring a nice sense of innocence to the role. California Dreaming never sounded so good. Just like in ‘real life’.Įven the music kicks ass. Subtlety is everything here, and in a film where narrative and plot is forsaken for imagery and emotions, a simple moment can mean so much.
The ever-present, streaking neon of the city night is just unforgettable, and provides a great backdrop for this simple slice of life, in which two stories run concurrently, with many similar themes explored between them, such as lovesickness and being alone in a world of people. Wong Kar-Wai’s Hong Kong is an offbeat, stylised, slow-motion blur of colours, sounds, tastes and smells which roll off the screen with the vividness of a dream. “Chungking Express” French Theatrical PosterĬast: Brigitte Lin, Kaneshiro Takeshi, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Faye Wong, Valerie Chow Kar Ling
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